sueoz

Hi - we are headed to Grand Cayman in two weeks. We love to snorkel and will be exploring with our rental car all around the island. When on St. John doing this we had to be careful not to leave any valuables (cameras, etc.) but were able to leave a bag with lunches, sunglasses, extra clothes, etc. How is Grand Cayman with petty theft? OK to leave non valuables on the beach while snorkeling? Thanks, sue

kelliebellie

Grand Cayman is incredibly safe, but you never know. Tough call.

monk21

We use the same caution in Grand Cayman as we would at home in the states-in Minneapolis. If you will have a rental car with you while exploring why not leave valuables (Camera/hotel keys)in the trunk and necessities (sun glasses, towels) in a bag on the beach.

ScottB

You will be absolutely fine leaving (non) valuables on the beach like towels, flip-flops, lunch, etc.

I use a small waterproof case for keys & cash. It's about the size of a wallet, and comes with a strap. You can usually find them at any dive shop.

For your camera, either leave it in the car locked in the trunk, or, if you want it with you like we do for beach pictures, we take some zip-loc freezer bags, and bury the camera in the sand next to our other belongings. Works great. If they want to steal our shoes & towels....go for it.

A_Traveller

It doesn't matter whether you are on Grand Cayman or ay other island. Use common sense. Don't leave anything of real value or anything you can't easily replace unattended on the beach (or anywhere else for that matter). You wouldn't think of leaving things laying around in a public place "back home", why should it be any different in the Caribbean. Just because there's palm trees, sandy beaches and lots of sunshine doesn't mean there are no pickpockets. It's not necessarily the "locals" you have to watch out for but sometimes the culprit could be your fellow tourist.

All that said, I doubt anyone is going to be interested in your sunglasses (unless they are new very expensive designer frames), used clothing or your lunch. Grand Cayman is considered a "safe" island but why push your luck.

You can buy small waterproof pouches to hold a small amount of cash, a credit card, your car keys, etc. That way you can keep them with you at all times. Secure your other valuables in your room safe or in a hotel safety deposit box. As for cameras, bring a waterproof one with you or you can get fairly inexpensive waterproof cases for those times when you feel it necessary to have a camera on the beach. Another alternative is to use disposal cameras, they aren't attractive to theives.